


Another Held You Near

by cantfuckinbelievethis



Series: Lip/Mickey [1]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Canon Divergence, M/M, What Have I Done, angst on angst on angst, gave Lip feelings, inexact quotes, what the fuck is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 00:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13088754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantfuckinbelievethis/pseuds/cantfuckinbelievethis
Summary: Lip Gallagher never kept secrets from his brother. However, there was one particular secret that he planned to take to his grave. Because Lip’s secret was about Mickey Milkovich, and damn it was a fuckin’ doozy.While Ian had been gone, and Mickey had been drowning his sorrows in The Alibi every day and night, it happened.





	Another Held You Near

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: cantfuckinbelievethis

Lip Gallagher never kept secrets from his brother. Either because it just didn’t matter whether Ian knew, or because he had no shame about it. However, there was one particular secret that he planned to take to his grave, or at least until Mickey Milkovich inevitably fucked up and Ian hated him. Because Lip’s secret was about Mickey Milkovich, and damn it was a fuckin’ doozy.   
  
    Ian and Mickey had been in a solid, stable relationship for the last four years since Ian came back from his runaway Army stint. While he had been gone, and Mickey had been drowning his sorrows in The Alibi every day and night, _it_ happened.   
  
    Lip had wandered into The Alibi, finally graduated from high school and now just chilling out before he went to college — which he was sure was going to be the hellhole he imagined. He came into The Alibi that day with an intent to bang someone. He and Mandy were done, Karen was gone, and Lip was fucking horny as shit. Obviously The Alibi mainly held old men getting drunk at all hours of the day, and never any hot women, but sometimes, a young, hot trucker would wander in looking for a one night stand, and Lip was more than happy to give that to them.   
  
    Despite never mentioning it to his brother — another secret he probably has kept, fuckin’ sue him, alright? — Lip was no stranger to getting it on with a dude. His surprise about Ian taking it up the ass, or so he assumed, was because he was also a gold star top. Fuck it if any man was getting his junk in Lip’s ass.   
  
    Regardless, he had been disappointed upon entering The Alibi to find no one but the regular crowd, and Mickey Milkovich. Possibly due to there being no viable option, Lip actually gave Mickey a second look and ignored his mind screaming no as his junk screamed _fuck yes_! When Mickey knocked over a glass by accident and Kev told him to pick it up, and Mickey bent over to grab it after flipping Kev off, Lip’s dick had made the decision for him. He was going to try and hook up with _Mickey fucking Milkovich_. Even worse, it was his brother’s ex.   
  
    Taking a deep breath and ordering a quick shot, he strode over to the mostly-sober Mickey. Slipping into the stool next to him, he greeted, ‘Milkovich.’   
  
    Mickey’s eyes flickered over to meet Lip’s, and he nodded. ‘Gallagher.’   
  
    ‘Got a proposition for you — and I’m only gonna make it once.’   
  
    ‘Not interested.’   
  
    ‘Think you are,’ Lip argued. ‘Seen how you’ve been trying to hook up with women, fuckin’ fooling yourself.’   
  
    ‘Fuck you,’ Mickey snarled, turning completely towards him and lowering his voice. ‘None of your business who I fuck. What’s this got to do with this _proposition_ , anyway?’   
  
    ‘Well, we both got what the other needs,’ Lip said bluntly and quietly, deciding this was the best way to go. If Mickey didn’t go for it, it’s not like he hadn’t taken a beating from him before. ‘I got a dick; you got an ass. Thinkin’ we can help each other out.’   
  
    Something flashed in Mickey’s eyes that Lip couldn’t figure out, but it quickly went away as confusion flooded in. ‘You’re fuckin’ with me, right?’   
  
    ‘Nope.’   
  
    ‘You know just because I’ve gotten off one Gallagher, doesn’t mean I wanna jump on another.’ Mickey’s expression turned dark as he took another shot. When Lip didn’t say anything, Mickey turned and studied his face for a moment. ‘Alright. Alley. Now.’   
  
    ‘Not fuckin’ in an alley,’ Lip scoffed.   
  
    ‘What, like you’re too good for that?’   
  
    Lip rolled his eyes. ‘Just come back to mine, man. No one’s home.’   
  
    Tensing, Mickey clenched his jaw and responded, ‘No. Alley, bathroom, or no dice.’   
  
    ‘Alley, then,’ Lip compromised. ‘Don’t want you kneeling in piss.’   
  
    ‘Fuck you,’ Mickey shot back before heading out the door.   
  
    Lip watched after him, eyeing his ass as he walked away before following a few moments later.   
  


* * *

It had been phenomenal. Lip had never had a fuck like that in his life.   
  
    “ _Best thing about fuckin’ Mickey Milkovich is that you can always do better, right_?” What a fuckin’ joke. Following after his brother, Lip quickly became obsessed. Not smitten like Ian, but more obsessed with dat ass. Well…maybe at least at first.   
  
    A few months into their routine fucking, Lip found it more and more difficult to ignore the way Mickey would grunt out, “Gallagher”, probably imagining an entirely different Gallagher. What shocked him the most was how Mickey immediately started their whole affair by making out with him for a short while before they fucked in the alley. Ian had once told him that Mickey had been too afraid to kiss him, but clearly Mickey had gotten over that fear, and Lip was reaping the benefits.   
  
    It was one night where Mickey turned up after Lip texted that the house was empty. He had just gone off to college and was home for the weekend, having missed Mickey a surprising amount. Mickey apparently felt the same way, because he finally agreed to fuck at the Gallagher house. When Lip opened the front door to see Mickey pretty much trembling, and not just because of the cold weather, he immediately dragged him up to his single room and they fucked like there was no tomorrow. After they were done, Lip told Mickey that the Gallaghers were gone for the whole night because Fiona was staying at her boyfriend’s, Debbie was staying at Matty’s, and Carl was at a party for the night.   
  
    ‘Are you tryin’ to make me stay or something, Gallagher?’ Mickey arched a brow, clearly mocking him. ‘Thinkin’ we’re gonna cuddle and talk about our dreams or some shit?’   
  
    ‘Fuck you,’ Lip said. ‘Just thought you wouldn’t wanna go back to that nightmare of a family of yours.’   
  
    ‘Didn’t seem to mind my sister so much a few months ago,’ Mickey retorted.   
  
    ‘And you seemed more attached to my brother,’ Lip snapped, something aching in his chest. ‘Looks like you’re over that.’   
  
    Mickey’s jaw clenched. ‘You can go fuck yourself. Only stayin’ because the heating’s out at my place, and that’s all. Take anything outta this as more than it is, and that’s your fault, bitch.’ With that, he rolled over and stilled.   
  
    A few minutes later, Lip fell asleep. He woke up at a sound coming from inside the house. Panicked and ready to tell Mickey to leave, he sat up and saw Mickey was already gone. Sniffing in annoyance, he pulled on some sweatpants and came out to see what was going on. The sound had come from his old room, so he assumed that Carl was home. Pushing open the door, he was shocked to see Mickey standing in front of Ian’s old bed. An almost empty bottle of alcohol was on the floor — the noise had clearly been its fall — and something in Mickey’s hands that he stared at.   
  
    ‘Mick?’   
  
    Mickey gasped, spinning around and blinking when he saw it was Lip. Sniffing he rubbed at his eyes before turning around. ‘Fuck off.’   
  
    Lip slowly approached him, looking over his shoulder to see Mickey holding a picture. It was of Mickey, Mandy, and Ian. For once, they were all somewhat smiling. Mickey was more smirking as he flipped off the camera, and Ian had his arm around Mandy. They all looked so happy, and Lip bit his lip as he realised he had never seen that look in Mickey’s eyes when he was around him.   
  
    ‘Didn’t know he had that hanging up,’ Lip commented, spotting the thumbtack still sitting in it. ‘Knew he kept it in the drawers, but guess he ended up putting it up once we all figured you guys were friends.’   
  
    ‘Don’t wanna talk about it,’ Mickey snarled, tossing the picture on Ian’s bed.   
  
    ‘I miss him,’ Lip said openly, hoping that would somehow bring Mickey to open up too. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around Mickey’s shoulders and put his head between his shoulder blades. Even more surprisingly, Mickey didn’t knock him off, just tensed up until Lip suddenly started sobbing.   
  
    Lip had never been the crier in the family — that had been Ian or Fiona. Lip just clenched back the tears, always wanting to be strong for everyone. Usually his tears were in the form of anger, lashing out at his family or anyone that cared. He and Mickey had that in common. With everything going on — college being a stressful shitstorm, Ian being gone, and these confusing feelings for his brother’s ex — he couldn’t help it.   
  
    It was almost surreal what Mickey did next. It was merely a touch to the back of Lip’s neck and a hand covering his hand, but it was almost like a bear hug from him. With a simple whisper, Mickey stated, ‘I miss him too.’   
  
    And, in the most messed up way possible, that’s how they ended what they had, and how Lip realised he was in love with Mickey Milkovich.   
  


* * *

It was a month later that Ian was back. When Lip saw him at that club, even with the way he was acting, he felt like he could breathe again. However, as soon as his mind flashed to telling Mickey, his breath left him just as quickly. He knew he had to do it, though, because he wasn’t the only one who had lost something when Ian left.   
  
    He approached the Milkovich house, feeling sick to his stomach as he spotted Mickey drinking on the porch. Licking his icy lips, he stopped outside the gate and stared up at his ex…whatever. Mickey glanced down at him, seeming to stop short for a moment before putting on an air of aloofness.   
  
    ‘What do you want?’ Mickey said bluntly, taking another sip of his drink.   
  
    ‘Ian’s back,’ Lip stated and Mickey froze, slowly turning to face him with hope in his eyes. Somehow, Lip knew Mickey would never let anyone else see this longing in him, but he let Lip. And, somehow, that broke his heart and healed it all at the same time. ‘He’s not doin’ so good. Fucked up at some club in Boystown. He won’t come home when Debs and I asked…I’m thinkin’ he would if you did.’   
  
    He was planning on spinning around then, leaving without another word, but he stopped short and added, ‘We can never tell him. If it works out, it’ll be awkward…seein’ each other and shit…but we can never tell him.’   
  
    ‘Don’t know what you’re even talkin’ ‘bout,’ Mickey scoffed.   
  
    Lip nodded, understanding what he was trying to say, and strode away from someone he wasn’t sure was not the love of his life. Clenching his jaw, he thought for the millionth time, “ _What is it with us Gallaghers getting involved with Milkoviches_?” Bad parenting, his brain added, in Ian’s voice. Nodding his head, he continued down the street with the sudden urge to punch Frank.   
  


* * *

  
Ian was home. Ian was finally home.   
  
    Lip couldn’t say it didn’t make him ecstatic, having his brother around again, but to race upstairs to see him and seeing Mickey already standing there, it made him wish he hadn’t been so eager. He stood awkwardly through the greetings, trying to inject enthusiasm in his tone and ignoring Ian’s strange behaviour.   
  
    When Ian answered Carl’s question with, ‘Relationship issues’, Lip couldn’t help but glance at Mickey, who looked down at his shoes before meeting Lip’s gaze. Over Mickey’s shoulder, Lip spotted the picture from before hanging up once again. Once again looking at the happiness in Mickey’s face, he clenched his jaw and tried to help the tension in the room by guiding his siblings out of the room. Glancing back once more, he made eye contact with Mickey, who nodded with that strange look Lip had never deciphered.   
  
    Slowly closing the door, he headed over to his own bedroom and shut the door behind him. Sitting on the bed, he put his head in his hands and let himself _feel everything_ for a moment.   
  
    Lip Gallagher never kept secrets from his brother.   
  
    But, sometimes, things were better left unsaid.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I started writing this for an upcoming comedy-ish prompt, and ended up with this ANGSTY DISASTER. So this will be followed up by the actual prompt, because I could not go from this to the funnies!
> 
> (Also not all quotes are correct, because I couldn't be bothered looking it up, so this is from memory of s3, which his hazy at best).


End file.
